Lab11

Lab 11 - Interactive Visualization

January 1, 0001

Learning Goals

  • Read in and process the COVID dataset from the New York Times GitHub repository

  • Create interactive graphs of different types using plot_ly() and ggplotly() functions

  • Customize the hoverinfo and other plot features

  • Create a Choropleth map using plot_geo()

Lab Description

We will work with COVID data downloaded from the New York Times. The dataset consists of COVID-19 cases and deaths in each US state during the course of the COVID epidemic.

The objective of this lab is to explore relationships between cases, deaths, and population sizes of US states, and plot data to demonstrate this

Steps

I. Reading and processing the New York Times (NYT) state-level COVID-19 data

1. Read in the data

## data extracted from New York Times state-level data from NYT Github repository
# https://github.com/nytimes/covid-19-data

## state-level population information from us_census_data available on GitHub repository:
# https://github.com/COVID19Tracking/associated-data/tree/master/us_census_data

### FINISH THE CODE HERE ###
# load COVID state-level data from NYT
cv_states <- as.data.frame(read.csv("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nytimes/covid-19-data/master/us-states.csv"))

### FINISH THE CODE HERE ###
# load state population data
state_pops <- as.data.frame(read.csv("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/COVID19Tracking/associated-data/master/us_census_data/us_census_2018_population_estimates_states.csv"))
state_pops$abb <- state_pops$state
state_pops$state <- state_pops$state_name
state_pops$state_name <- NULL

### FINISH THE CODE HERE
cv_states <- merge(cv_states, state_pops, by= "state")

2. Look at the data

  • Inspect the dimensions, head, and tail of the data

  • Inspect the structure of each variables. Are they in the correct format?

    dim(cv_states)
    [1] 58094     9
    head(cv_states)
        state       date fips   cases deaths geo_id population pop_density abb
    1 Alabama 2023-01-04    1 1587224  21263      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    2 Alabama 2020-04-25    1    6213    213      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    3 Alabama 2023-02-26    1 1638348  21400      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    4 Alabama 2022-12-03    1 1549285  21129      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    5 Alabama 2020-05-06    1    8691    343      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    6 Alabama 2021-04-21    1  524367  10807      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    tail(cv_states)
            state       date fips  cases deaths geo_id population pop_density abb
    58089 Wyoming 2022-09-11   56 175290   1884     56     577737    5.950611  WY
    58090 Wyoming 2022-08-21   56 173487   1871     56     577737    5.950611  WY
    58091 Wyoming 2021-01-26   56  51152    596     56     577737    5.950611  WY
    58092 Wyoming 2021-02-21   56  53795    662     56     577737    5.950611  WY
    58093 Wyoming 2021-08-22   56  70671    809     56     577737    5.950611  WY
    58094 Wyoming 2021-03-20   56  55581    693     56     577737    5.950611  WY
    str(cv_states)
    'data.frame':   58094 obs. of  9 variables:
     $ state      : chr  "Alabama" "Alabama" "Alabama" "Alabama" ...
     $ date       : chr  "2023-01-04" "2020-04-25" "2023-02-26" "2022-12-03" ...
     $ fips       : int  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ...
     $ cases      : int  1587224 6213 1638348 1549285 8691 524367 1321892 1088370 1153149 814025 ...
     $ deaths     : int  21263 213 21400 21129 343 10807 19676 16756 16826 15179 ...
     $ geo_id     : int  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ...
     $ population : int  4887871 4887871 4887871 4887871 4887871 4887871 4887871 4887871 4887871 4887871 ...
     $ pop_density: num  96.5 96.5 96.5 96.5 96.5 ...
     $ abb        : chr  "AL" "AL" "AL" "AL" ...

States and dates are in character formats so they would need to be altered. The rest appear fine.

3. Format the data

  • Make date into a date variable

  • Make state into a factor variable

  • Order the data first by state, second by date

  • Confirm the variables are now correctly formatted

  • Inspect the range values for each variable. What is the date range? The range of cases and deaths?

    # format the date
    cv_states$date <- as.Date(cv_states$date, format="%Y-%m-%d")
    
    # format the state and state abbreviation (abb) variables
    state_list <- unique(cv_states$state)
    cv_states$state <- factor(cv_states$state, levels = state_list)
    abb_list <- unique(cv_states$abb)
    cv_states$abb <- factor(cv_states$abb, levels = abb_list)
    
    ### FINISH THE CODE HERE 
    # order the data first by state, second by date
    cv_states = cv_states[order(cv_states$state, cv_states$date),]
    
    # Confirm the variables are now correctly formatted
    str(cv_states)
    'data.frame':   58094 obs. of  9 variables:
     $ state      : Factor w/ 52 levels "Alabama","Alaska",..: 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ...
     $ date       : Date, format: "2020-03-13" "2020-03-14" ...
     $ fips       : int  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ...
     $ cases      : int  6 12 23 29 39 51 78 106 131 157 ...
     $ deaths     : int  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ...
     $ geo_id     : int  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ...
     $ population : int  4887871 4887871 4887871 4887871 4887871 4887871 4887871 4887871 4887871 4887871 ...
     $ pop_density: num  96.5 96.5 96.5 96.5 96.5 ...
     $ abb        : Factor w/ 52 levels "AL","AK","AZ",..: 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ...
    head(cv_states)
           state       date fips cases deaths geo_id population pop_density abb
    1029 Alabama 2020-03-13    1     6      0      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    597  Alabama 2020-03-14    1    12      0      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    282  Alabama 2020-03-15    1    23      0      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    12   Alabama 2020-03-16    1    29      0      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    266  Alabama 2020-03-17    1    39      0      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    78   Alabama 2020-03-18    1    51      0      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    tail(cv_states)
            state       date fips  cases deaths geo_id population pop_density abb
    57902 Wyoming 2023-03-18   56 185640   2009     56     577737    5.950611  WY
    57916 Wyoming 2023-03-19   56 185640   2009     56     577737    5.950611  WY
    57647 Wyoming 2023-03-20   56 185640   2009     56     577737    5.950611  WY
    57867 Wyoming 2023-03-21   56 185800   2014     56     577737    5.950611  WY
    58057 Wyoming 2023-03-22   56 185800   2014     56     577737    5.950611  WY
    57812 Wyoming 2023-03-23   56 185800   2014     56     577737    5.950611  WY
    # Inspect the range values for each variable. What is the date range? The range of cases and deaths?
    head(cv_states)
           state       date fips cases deaths geo_id population pop_density abb
    1029 Alabama 2020-03-13    1     6      0      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    597  Alabama 2020-03-14    1    12      0      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    282  Alabama 2020-03-15    1    23      0      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    12   Alabama 2020-03-16    1    29      0      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    266  Alabama 2020-03-17    1    39      0      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    78   Alabama 2020-03-18    1    51      0      1    4887871    96.50939  AL
    summary(cv_states)
               state            date                 fips           cases         
     Washington   : 1158   Min.   :2020-01-21   Min.   : 1.00   Min.   :       1  
     Illinois     : 1155   1st Qu.:2020-12-06   1st Qu.:16.00   1st Qu.:  112125  
     California   : 1154   Median :2021-09-11   Median :29.00   Median :  418120  
     Arizona      : 1153   Mean   :2021-09-10   Mean   :29.78   Mean   :  947941  
     Massachusetts: 1147   3rd Qu.:2022-06-17   3rd Qu.:44.00   3rd Qu.: 1134318  
     Wisconsin    : 1143   Max.   :2023-03-23   Max.   :72.00   Max.   :12169158  
     (Other)      :51184                                                          
         deaths           geo_id        population        pop_density       
     Min.   :     0   Min.   : 1.00   Min.   :  577737   Min.   :    1.292  
     1st Qu.:  1598   1st Qu.:16.00   1st Qu.: 1805832   1st Qu.:   43.659  
     Median :  5901   Median :29.00   Median : 4468402   Median :  107.860  
     Mean   : 12553   Mean   :29.78   Mean   : 6397965   Mean   :  423.031  
     3rd Qu.: 15952   3rd Qu.:44.00   3rd Qu.: 7535591   3rd Qu.:  229.511  
     Max.   :104277   Max.   :72.00   Max.   :39557045   Max.   :11490.120  
                                                         NA's   :1106       
          abb       
     WA     : 1158  
     IL     : 1155  
     CA     : 1154  
     AZ     : 1153  
     MA     : 1147  
     WI     : 1143  
     (Other):51184  
    min(cv_states$date)
    [1] "2020-01-21"
    max(cv_states$date)
    [1] "2023-03-23"

Jan 2020 to March 2023 is the range of dates, cases range is 1-12169158, deaths range is 0-104277.

4. Add new_cases and new_deaths and correct outliers

  • Add variables for new cases, new_cases, and new deaths, new_deaths:

    • Hint: You can set new_cases equal to the difference between cases on date i and date i-1, starting on date i=2
  • Filter to dates after June 1, 2021

  • Use plotly for EDA: See if there are outliers or values that don’t make sense for new_cases and new_deaths. Which states and which dates have strange values?

    • California, Texas and New York make sense as they are highly populated states but among those high case states, Arizona, Indiana, and North Carolina show up and those are not that high of populations to be showing those type of numbers. July 2021 has a high majority of the cases.
  • Correct outliers: Set negative values for new_cases or new_deaths to 0

  • Recalculate cases and deaths as cumulative sum of updated new_cases and new_deaths

  • Get the rolling average of new cases and new deaths to smooth over time

  • Inspect data again interactively

    library(dplyr)
    
    Attaching package: 'dplyr'
    The following objects are masked from 'package:stats':
    
        filter, lag
    The following objects are masked from 'package:base':
    
        intersect, setdiff, setequal, union
    library(ggplot2)
    library(plotly)
    
    Attaching package: 'plotly'
    The following object is masked from 'package:ggplot2':
    
        last_plot
    The following object is masked from 'package:stats':
    
        filter
    The following object is masked from 'package:graphics':
    
        layout
    # Add variables for new_cases and new_deaths:
    for (i in 1:length(state_list)) {
      cv_subset = subset(cv_states, state == state_list[i])
      cv_subset = cv_subset[order(cv_subset$date),]
    
      # add starting level for new cases and deaths
      cv_subset$new_cases = cv_subset$cases[1]
      cv_subset$new_deaths = cv_subset$deaths[1]
    
      ### FINISH THE CODE HERE
      for (j in 2:nrow(cv_subset)) {
        cv_subset$new_cases[j] = cv_subset$cases[j] - cv_subset$cases[j-1]
        cv_subset$new_deaths[j] = cv_subset$deaths[j] - cv_subset$deaths[j-1]
      }
    
      # include in main dataset
      cv_states$new_cases[cv_states$state==state_list[i]] = cv_subset$new_cases
      cv_states$new_deaths[cv_states$state==state_list[i]] = cv_subset$new_deaths
    }
    
    # Focus on recent dates
    cv_states <- cv_states %>% dplyr::filter(date >= "2021-06-01")
    
    ### FINISH THE CODE HERE
    # Inspect outliers in new_cases using plotly
    p1 <- ggplot(cv_states, aes(x = date, y = new_cases, color = state)) + geom_line() + geom_point(size = .5, alpha = 0.5)
    ggplotly(p1)
    p1 <- NULL  # to clear from the workspace
    
    p2 <- ggplot(cv_states, aes(x = date, y = new_deaths, color = state)) + geom_line() + geom_point(size = .5, alpha = 0.5)
    ggplotly(p2)
    p2 <- NULL  # to clear from the workspace
    
    # set negative new case or death counts to 0
    cv_states$new_cases[cv_states$new_cases<0] = 0
    cv_states$new_deaths[cv_states$new_deaths<0] = 0
    
    # Recalculate `cases` and `deaths` as cumulative sum of updated `new_cases` and `new_deaths`
    for (i in 1:length(state_list)) {
      cv_subset = subset(cv_states, state == state_list[i])
    
      # add starting level for new cases and deaths
      cv_subset$cases = cv_subset$cases[1]
      cv_subset$deaths = cv_subset$deaths[1]
    
      ### FINISH CODE HERE
      for (j in 2:nrow(cv_subset)) {
        cv_subset$cases[j] = cv_subset$new_cases[j] + cv_subset$cases[j-1]
        cv_subset$deaths[j] = cv_subset$new_deaths[j] + cv_subset$deaths[j-1]
      }
      # include in main dataset
      cv_states$cases[cv_states$state==state_list[i]] = cv_subset$cases
      cv_states$deaths[cv_states$state==state_list[i]] = cv_subset$deaths
    }
    
    # Smooth new counts
    cv_states$new_cases = zoo::rollmean(cv_states$new_cases, k=7, fill=NA, align='right') %>% round(digits = 0)
    cv_states$new_deaths = zoo::rollmean(cv_states$new_deaths, k=7, fill=NA, align='right') %>% round(digits = 0)
    
    # Inspect data again interactively
    p2<-ggplot(cv_states, aes(x = date, y = new_deaths, color = state)) + geom_line() + geom_point(size = .5, alpha = 0.5)
    ggplotly(p2)
    #p2=NULL

5. Add additional variables

  • Add population-normalized (by 100,000) variables for each variable type (rounded to 1 decimal place). Make sure the variables you calculate are in the correct format (numeric). You can use the following variable names:

    • per100k = cases per 100,000 population

    • newper100k= new cases per 100,000

    • deathsper100k = deaths per 100,000

    • newdeathsper100k = new deaths per 100,000

  • Add a “naive CFR” variable representing deaths / cases on each date for each state

  • Create a dataframe representing values on the most recent date, cv_states_today, as done in lecture

    ### FINISH CODE HERE
    # add population normalized (by 100,000) counts for each variable
    cv_states$per100k = as.numeric(format(round(cv_states$cases / (cv_states$population / 100000), 1), nsmall = 1))
    cv_states$newper100k = as.numeric(format(round(cv_states$new_cases / (cv_states$population / 100000), 1), nsmall = 1))
    Warning: NAs introduced by coercion
    cv_states$deathsper100k = as.numeric(format(round(cv_states$deaths / (cv_states$population / 100000), 1), nsmall = 1))
    cv_states$newdeathsper100k = as.numeric(format(round(cv_states$new_deaths / (cv_states$population / 100000), 1), nsmall = 1))
    Warning: NAs introduced by coercion
    # Add a naive_CFR variable = deaths / cases
    cv_states = cv_states %>% mutate(naive_CFR = round((deaths * 100 / cases), 2))
    
    # Create a `cv_states_today` variable
    cv_states_today = subset(cv_states, date == max(cv_states$date))

II. Scatterplots

6. Explore scatterplots using plot_ly()

  • Create a scatterplot using plot_ly() representing pop_density vs. various variables (e.g. cases, per100k, deaths, deathsper100k) for each state on most recent date (cv_states_today)

    • Color points by state and size points by state population

    • Use hover to identify any outliers.

    • Remove those outliers and replot.

  • Choose one plot. For this plot:

    • Add hoverinfo specifying the state name, cases per 100k, and deaths per 100k, similarly to how we did this in the lecture notes

    • Add layout information to title the chart and the axes

    • Enable hovermode = "compare"

      ### FINISH CODE HERE
      
      # pop_density vs. cases
      cv_states_today %>% 
        plot_ly(x = ~pop_density, y = ~cases, 
                type = 'scatter', mode = 'markers', color = ~state,
                size = ~population, sizes = c(5, 70), marker = list(sizemode='diameter', opacity=0.5))
      Warning: Ignoring 1 observations
      Warning in RColorBrewer::brewer.pal(N, "Set2"): n too large, allowed maximum for palette Set2 is 8
      Returning the palette you asked for with that many colors
      
      Warning in RColorBrewer::brewer.pal(N, "Set2"): n too large, allowed maximum for palette Set2 is 8
      Returning the palette you asked for with that many colors
      # filter out "District of Columbia"
      cv_states_today_filter <- cv_states_today %>% filter(state != "District of Columbia")
      
      # pop_density vs. cases after filtering
      cv_states_today_filter %>% 
        plot_ly(x = ~pop_density, y = ~cases, 
                type = 'scatter', mode = 'markers', color = ~state,
                size = ~population, sizes = c(5, 70), marker = list(sizemode='diameter', opacity=0.5))
      Warning: Ignoring 1 observations
      
      Warning: n too large, allowed maximum for palette Set2 is 8
      Returning the palette you asked for with that many colors
      
      Warning: n too large, allowed maximum for palette Set2 is 8
      Returning the palette you asked for with that many colors
      # pop_density vs. deathsper100k
      cv_states_today_filter %>% 
        plot_ly(x = ~pop_density, y = ~deathsper100k,
                type = 'scatter', mode = 'markers', color = ~state,
                size = ~population, sizes = c(5, 70), marker = list(sizemode='diameter', opacity=0.5))
      Warning: Ignoring 1 observations
      
      Warning: n too large, allowed maximum for palette Set2 is 8
      Returning the palette you asked for with that many colors
      
      Warning: n too large, allowed maximum for palette Set2 is 8
      Returning the palette you asked for with that many colors
      # Adding hoverinfo
      cv_states_today_filter %>% 
        plot_ly(x = ~pop_density, y = ~deathsper100k,
                type = 'scatter', mode = 'markers', color = ~state,
                size = ~population, sizes = c(5, 70), marker = list(sizemode='diameter', opacity=0.5),
                hoverinfo = 'text',
                text = ~paste(paste(state, ":", sep=""), paste(" Cases per 100k: ", per100k, sep="") , 
                              paste(" Deaths per 100k: ", deathsper100k, sep=""), sep = "<br>")) %>%
        layout(title = "Population-normalized COVID-19 deaths (per 100k) vs. population density for US states",
               yaxis = list(title = "Deaths per 100k"), xaxis = list(title = "Population Density"),
               hovermode = "compare")
      Warning: Ignoring 1 observations
      
      Warning: n too large, allowed maximum for palette Set2 is 8
      Returning the palette you asked for with that many colors
      
      Warning: n too large, allowed maximum for palette Set2 is 8
      Returning the palette you asked for with that many colors

7. Explore scatterplot trend interactively using ggplotly() and geom_smooth()

  • For pop_density vs. newdeathsper100k create a chart with the same variables using gglot_ly()

  • Explore the pattern between \(x\) and \(y\) using geom_smooth()

    • Explain what you see. Do you think pop_density is a correlate of newdeathsper100k?

      • The higher the population density, the higher the deaths per 100k appear to be as the biggest circles are at the top left corner of the graph.

        ### FINISH CODE HERE
        p <- ggplot(cv_states_today_filter, aes(x = pop_density, y = deathsper100k, size = population, color = state)) +
          geom_point(alpha = 0.7) +
          scale_size_continuous(range = c(5, 70))
        ggplotly(p)

8. Multiple line chart

  • Create a line chart of the naive_CFR for all states over time using plot_ly()

    • Use the zoom and pan tools to inspect the naive_CFR for the states that had an increase in September. How have they changed over time?
      • They have decreased over time.
  • Create one more line chart, for Florida only, which shows new_cases and new_deaths together in one plot. Hint: use add_layer()

    • Use hoverinfo to “eyeball” the approximate peak of deaths and peak of cases. What is the time delay between the peak of cases and the peak of deaths?
      • From July to October seems to be the delay between the peak of cases and the peak of deaths.
### FINISH CODE HERE
# Line chart for naive_CFR for all states over time using `plot_ly()`
plot_ly(cv_states, x = ~date, y = ~naive_CFR, color = ~state, type = "scatter", mode = "lines")
Warning in RColorBrewer::brewer.pal(N, "Set2"): n too large, allowed maximum for palette Set2 is 8
Returning the palette you asked for with that many colors

Warning in RColorBrewer::brewer.pal(N, "Set2"): n too large, allowed maximum for palette Set2 is 8
Returning the palette you asked for with that many colors
### FINISH CODE HERE
# Line chart for Florida showing new_cases and new_deaths together
cv_states %>% 
  filter(state == "Florida") %>% 
  plot_ly(x = ~date, y = ~new_cases, type = "scatter", mode = "lines", name = "New Cases") %>% 
  add_trace(x = ~date, y = ~new_deaths, type = "scatter", mode = "lines", name = "New Deaths") 

9. Heatmaps

Create a heatmap to visualize new_cases for each state on each date greater than June 1st, 2021

  • Start by mapping selected features in the dataframe into a matrix using the tidyr package function pivot_wider(), naming the rows and columns, as done in the lecture notes

  • Use plot_ly() to create a heatmap out of this matrix. Which states stand out?

    • California, Georgia, New York, and Texas stand out.
  • Repeat with newper100k variable. Now which states stand out?

    • All of them seem to stand out in a similar fashion.
  • Create a second heatmap in which the pattern of new_cases for each state over time becomes more clear by filtering to only look at dates every two weeks

    ### FINISH CODE HERE
    # Map state, date, and new_cases to a matrix
    library(tidyr)
    cv_states_mat <- cv_states %>%
      select(state, date, new_cases) %>%
      dplyr::filter(date > as.Date("2021-06-15"))
    
    cv_states_mat2 <- as.data.frame(pivot_wider(cv_states_mat, names_from = state, values_from = new_cases))
    rownames(cv_states_mat2) <- cv_states_mat2$date
    cv_states_mat2$date <- NULL
    cv_states_mat2 <- as.matrix(cv_states_mat2)
    
    # Create a heatmap using plot_ly()
    plot_ly(x = colnames(cv_states_mat2), y = rownames(cv_states_mat2),
            z = ~cv_states_mat2,
            type = "heatmap",
            showscale = T)
    # Repeat with newper100k
    cv_states_mat <- cv_states %>%
      select(state, date, newper100k) %>%
      dplyr::filter(date > as.Date("2021-06-15"))
    
    cv_states_mat2 <- as.data.frame(pivot_wider(cv_states_mat, names_from = state, values_from = newper100k))
    rownames(cv_states_mat2) <- cv_states_mat2$date
    cv_states_mat2$date <- NULL
    cv_states_mat2 <- as.matrix(cv_states_mat2)
    
    plot_ly(x = colnames(cv_states_mat2), y = rownames(cv_states_mat2),
            z = ~cv_states_mat2,
            type = "heatmap",
            showscale = T)
    # Create a second heatmap after filtering to only include dates every other week
    filter_dates <- seq(as.Date("2021-06-15"), as.Date("2021-11-01"), by = "2 weeks")
    
    cv_states_mat <- cv_states %>%
      select(state, date, newper100k) %>%
      filter(date %in% filter_dates)
    
    cv_states_mat2 <- as.data.frame(pivot_wider(cv_states_mat, names_from = state, values_from = newper100k))
    rownames(cv_states_mat2) <- cv_states_mat2$date
    cv_states_mat2$date <- NULL
    cv_states_mat2 <- as.matrix(cv_states_mat2)
    
    # Create a heatmap using plot_ly()
    plot_ly(x = colnames(cv_states_mat2), y = rownames(cv_states_mat2),
            z = ~cv_states_mat2,
            type = "heatmap",
            showscale = T)

10. Map

  • Create a map to visualize the naive_CFR by state on October 15, 2021

  • Compare with a map visualizing the naive_CFR by state on most recent date

  • Plot the two maps together using subplot(). Make sure the shading is for the same range of values (google is your friend for this)

  • Describe the difference in the pattern of the CFR.

    • The map on top has higher cases per 100k in the more isolated/lower populated states such as Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Alaska while the lower is a lot lower in cases per 100k overall.

      ### For specified date
      
      pick.date = "2021-10-15"
      
      # Extract the data for each state by its abbreviation
      cv_per100 <- cv_states %>% filter(date==pick.date) %>% select(state, abb, newper100k, cases, deaths) # select data
      cv_per100$state_name <- cv_per100$state
      cv_per100$state <- cv_per100$abb
      cv_per100$abb <- NULL
      
      # Create hover text
      cv_per100$hover <- with(cv_per100, paste(state_name, '<br>', "Cases per 100k: ", newper100k, '<br>', "Cases: ", cases, '<br>', "Deaths: ", deaths))
      
      # Set up mapping details
      set_map_details <- list(
        scope = 'usa',
        projection = list(type = 'albers usa'),
        showlakes = TRUE,
        lakecolor = toRGB('white')
      )
      
      # Make sure both maps are on the same color scale
      shadeLimit <- 125
      
      # Create the map
      fig <- plot_geo(cv_per100, locationmode = 'USA-states') %>% 
        add_trace(
          z = ~newper100k, text = ~hover, locations = ~state,
          color = ~newper100k, colors = 'Purples'
        )
      fig <- fig %>% colorbar(title = paste0("Cases per 100k: ", pick.date), limits = c(0,shadeLimit))
      fig <- fig %>% layout(
          title = paste('Cases per 100k by State as of ', pick.date, '<br>(Hover for value)'),
          geo = set_map_details
        )
      fig_pick.date <- fig
      
      #############
      ### Map for today's date
      
      # Extract the data for each state by its abbreviation
      cv_per100 <- cv_states_today %>%  select(state, abb, newper100k, cases, deaths) # select data
      cv_per100$state_name <- cv_per100$state
      cv_per100$state <- cv_per100$abb
      cv_per100$abb <- NULL
      
      # Create hover text
      cv_per100$hover <- with(cv_per100, paste(state_name, '<br>', "Cases per 100k: ", newper100k, '<br>', "Cases: ", cases, '<br>', "Deaths: ", deaths))
      
      # Set up mapping details
      set_map_details <- list(
        scope = 'usa',
        projection = list(type = 'albers usa'),
        showlakes = TRUE,
        lakecolor = toRGB('white')
      )
      
      # Create the map
      fig <- plot_geo(cv_per100, locationmode = 'USA-states') %>% 
        add_trace(
          z = ~newper100k, text = ~hover, locations = ~state,
          color = ~newper100k, colors = 'Purples'
        )
      fig <- fig %>% colorbar(title = paste0("Cases per 100k: ", Sys.Date()), limits = c(0,shadeLimit))
      fig <- fig %>% layout(
          title = paste('Cases per 100k by State as of', Sys.Date(), '<br>(Hover for value)'),
          geo = set_map_details
        )
      fig_Today <- fig
      
      
      ### Plot together 
      subplot(fig_pick.date, fig_Today, nrows = 2, margin = 0.05)